The Veiled Hope

1994, Documentary

Is The Veiled Hope, as a title, ambiguous or pessimist? One thing is sure, it is realistic and full of paradoxes. In the West, the image of Palestinian women is that of an Orientalist. Yet, the Palestinian women didn’t wait for the Intifadah of 1987 to revolt. This documentary breaks the poor image of Palestinian women in the West. It also shows the chaotic place of women in the Palestinian society.

During 55’, the camera follows, in their daily life, five elite women including Hanane Ashraoui ex-Minster of education, Hanane Arouri, physiotherapist, Yusra Barbari, president of Women Union in Gaza, Rima Tarasi, pianist and the doctor Joumanan Oudeh. The documentary also evokes beneath the surface (in filigree) the representation of women in the Palestinian paintings. They are always veiled and masked. The details of their figures are rubbed out: their sensuality is absent, their bodies are stylised to the extreme, especially their faces.